Tax Time is the Perfect Time to Tackle Paper Clutter

Tax time is upon us and that is always a good time to clean out your files, says Beth Randall, owner of Joe Organizer, a Plainfield-based business. 

"It's a necessity to clear out your old files to make room for the new, unless of course you enjoy collecting filing cabinets to store all of it," she said in a written release.

And as a professional organizer, Randall has a system that works well for her.

"What I usually recommend is that you purchase an accordion file folder," she said.

You can usually find these at local big box stores for less than $10.

"Take all your 2012 papers and store them in the accordion file," she said. "I store the papers in alphabetical order.  If it's the Comcast bill it goes under C, Nicor until N, etc.  I would recommend you check with your accountant or lawyer as to which papers you need to keep.  As a small business owner it's important for me to keep my utility bills for tax purposes."

When she has a client who is not sure about ant particular piece of paper, she has them ask themselves two questions:  'What is the worse thing that could happen if you didn't have this piece of paper any longer?'  Second question: 'Can you obtain the information on this paper anywhere else?' 

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